Looking for a real man's soldering iron.

[rockgardenlove]

I want something nice.  100 bucks is about how much I'm wiling to spend tops.  Anybody got any suggestions?  I want one of the quick heat up variable temp ones so the tips won't die so quick.

[tcobretti]

I think several of us use this one:

http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7501

I am completely impressed with it.  Seriously, you will not believe the difference.  You also can get free stuff if you spend more than $50. 

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/190

[phil]

I think several of us use this one:
http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7501

+1 on that - I just got the exact one from Circuit Specialist a week ago and it maintains the temperature you set really well even when soldering pots and jacks. I can't believe it's only $40 and I spent another $10 and got the free multimeter with the transistor/diode/capacitor tester.

[Cliff Schecht]

I guess none of you guys have used a Metcal? I used to get to use one in the Dell labs when my dad took me there as a kid, simply the best. He brought one home recently and I got to use it on a few projects, all of which worked on the first try .

[Thomas P.]

I have an ERSA Multitip 15 (W) which is not what you want (of course) BUT the solder tip (ERSADUR) is insane!!! I can't really remember when I bought the tip so long I'm using it now! Really great...
The good thing is: They provide these tips for their solder station, too. So you might wanna look out for one of those.

http://www.ersa.de/en/

[DDD]

My sincerest advice: $20 iron plus DIY voltage (temperature) controller (switch) like 1n4007 (in series) with 3 switched capacitors (1uf, 3uF, 4.7uF in PARALLEL with the 1N4007) - $10.
Totally $30. The rest of the money - buy flowers for your lady. ;-)

[tcobretti]

My sincerest advice: $20 iron plus DIY voltage (temperature) controller (switch) like 1n4007 (in series) with 3 switched capacitors (1uf, 3uF, 4.7uF in PARALLEL with the 1N4007) - $10.
Totally $30. The rest of the money - buy flowers for your lady. ;-)

You get huge points for DIY, but my question is whether this setup will this get as hot as a nice iron?

[markm]

I think several of us use this one:

http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7501

I am completely impressed with it.  Seriously, you will not believe the difference.  You also can get free stuff if you spend more than $50. 

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/190

Does this thing come with everything in the pic??
And.....is the standard tip an ideal size for what we as pedal guys build?
What about tip longevity? 

[rockgardenlove]

I have the same questions.

[Cliff Schecht]

Metcal FTW! Only $800.

[markm]

I think several of us use this one:

http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7501

I am completely impressed with it.  Seriously, you will not believe the difference.  You also can get free stuff if you spend more than $50. 

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/190

Does this thing come with everything in the pic??
And.....is the standard tip an ideal size for what we as pedal guys build?
What about tip longevity? 

Anyone?

[jonathan perez]

Looking for a real man's soldering iron....

a real mans iron?

learn to weld.

[phil]

Does this thing come with everything in the pic??

The one I got just over a week ago came with everything in the picture except for the yellow sponge.

And.....is the standard tip an ideal size for what we as pedal guys build?

The tip that comes with it has worked well for me so far, and I've just finished a vero build of a Thor and boxed it in a hammond enclosure so I've soldered the circuit board, pots, jacks with the same tip. I've even put together a Condor Cab Sim on Radio Shack perf board without any solder bridging. There are quite a selection of other tips for it that run about $6 or so if you need something finer or a flat tip - and you get a free gift (a nice DMM for instance) if the total (excluding shipping) is $50 or more, so for $51 you can get the iron plus a couple tips.

What about tip longevity? 

Since I haven't owned it long, I can't speak for the longevity, but here's a quote from the above thread from someone who has had Xytronic tips that are over 10 years old. 

I would go with the Xytronic hands down. No contest.

I have Xytronic tips that are over 10 years old with literally hundreds and hundreds of hours on them any they're still in fantastic shape. The selection of Xytronic tips is nice too.

The Xytronic has a thermocouple in the heater so it actively switches the heater on and off as needed. If you touch the iron to the back of a pot or to a board with a big ground plane, the heater will come on to compensate.

Also... look at the cleaner the Xytronic unit comes with. It looks like a disposable ashtray with a brass scouring pad in it. That's actually pretty much what it is, but it's far superior to using a sponge. I'm quite convinced that sponges and wet paper towels are the primary cause of tip destruction; not normal use. I clean mine by adding more solder, taping it off, and scraping away any crusties with a little screwdriver. It works great. When I'm not using the iron constantly, I just dial the temp down when I'm not going to use it for a little bit. When I come back and turn the dial back up, it reheats right away. Passive irons (like that Weller) take forever to heat up in comparison.

There's my 2 cents.

Take care, and congrats on your Rocket,
-Peter

Even though this thread is old, there's quite a bit of interesting information in this:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=16220.0

[/quote]

[markm]

Thank you kindly Phil....
I think I need to buy one of these! 

[markm]

 

Just bought one!
Jeeeez.....How am I gonna hide THIS from the wife.....

[calculating_infinity]

Nice find guys, I wish they shipped USPS!  Just the soldering station shipped to Hawaii is $30.96!!!  Almost the cost of the station itself.   

[sfr]

I have that Xytronics 379.  Yeah, came with everything in the pic except the sponge (although, once you start using the copper "wool" thing, you'll never go back to a sponge.)  Got it in 2003, I think?  (that's when the board says I joined here, and I got it shortly after that at the recommendation of the forum) and have been using the tip that came with it since then, and have had no problems.  Love the thing to death.  For the cost of the thing, I don't think it can be beat.  (Although it was cheaper back when I bought it.)

Also, I second TBOM's "learn to weld" joke, but mostly because I myself have been wanting to for years, and simply haven't gotten around to it.

[phil]

Just bought one!

Congrats on the purchase - I think you'll be surprised how nice it is especially for the price ... (and mine showed up 2 days after ordering!)

[jeff g]

I like my Hakko 936 - haven't fried anything yet !


http://www.tequipment.net/Hakko936-12.html

[oczad]

I like my Hakko 936 - haven't fried anything yet !


http://www.tequipment.net/Hakko936-12.html

+1 big time. I used to have wellers for years and i'm talking high end. They'd last a short time them go south. so i bought 2 Hakko 936's, one for work and one for home. This was about 5 years ago and they are both still fuctioning as new with the added bonus that i never seem to have to change tips ! I changed it one the work unit which is used daily, but not because it needed it but because they pay for it so i just figured i'd throw a new one on about a year ago. But i realized i didn't need to as the old one was just as good as the new one. I swear, they never seem to wear out. Couldn't recommend them higly enough. there is one thing i don't like tho......no 'on" light. (unless the new ones now have them) there is a light that  tells you when it's heating. for example, when the tip touches a joint it will light to show the tip has gone below the set temp and is heating. But since it's not always on you can't look at it and know. however, i installed a lite very easily. aside from that they are absolutly superb stations. I paid i think $59 but i believe they've gone up about 20 or 30 bucks since them. Worth every penny tho.